American Constitution Society Honors UF as Chapter of the Year

The University of Florida Levin College of Law chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy recently was recognized by the national organization as Chapter of the Year at its annual conference in Washington, D.C.

The chapter, founded at UF in 2003, also received the Network Building Award for Continuing Commitment to Diversity.

“The quantity and quality of our programming, as well as our willingness to collaborate with other student groups, earned us recognition on the national level,” said Chapter President Adrian Chandler (pictured left), who will graduate this December. “The chapter’s increased visibility in the national organization will greatly increase our ability to bring high caliber speakers in law and public policy to UF.”

The ACS chapter at UF has sponsored numerous lectures and debates focusing on Constitutional issues and public policy, including former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Duke Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, and Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince. Last year, the chapter sponsored more than 40 events on campus, including the Food For Thought Lecture Series. Founded nationally in 2001, ACS is one of the nation’s leading progressive legal organizations. According to its website, www.acslaw.org, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals whose mission is “to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law.”

“We’ve grown by leaps and bounds in the past seven years,” said Chandler, who joined the group during her first semester of law school in Spring 2005. “Our speakers usually seek to promote progressive interpretation of the law that focuses on equal justice and civil liberties and rights and things of that nature.”

Chandler and fellow chapter member Eduardo Mordujovich were among about 150 students who received scholarships to cover the cost of registration and greatly defray travel expenses to attend the conference. Chandler also was one of about 30 students from around the country recognized by ACS as Next Generation Leaders, which will enable her to do research and writing for the organization.

“It’s very exciting and an awesome chance to network with some of the big names in law and public policy in the country,” she said. “So I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be doing more to get the organization’s name out there and I’ll be doing chapter-building and things of that nature in Florida and the Southeast.”